Idaho Transportation Department  OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY

Distracted Driving Task Force: Promoting Attentive Driving for Life

SAMPLE News Release for

IDAHO’S DRIVE AWARE CAMPAIGN

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[Local Law Enforcement Organization]Ready to Kick Off the

“Idaho Drive Aware” Campaign to

Promote Attentive Driving for Life

From April 1 to 11, 2016, law enforcement personnel will be using a combination of traditional and innovative strategies to provide outreach and education to motorists on distracted driving. This effort is a part of the Idaho Drive Aware campaign that combines enforcement of Idaho’s inattentive driving law with education and media outreach.

[AGENCY] understands driver distractions is not specific to a cell phone. Anything that takes your eyes off the road or hands off the steering wheel is considered a distraction—visual, manual and cognitive. Distractions include navigation and entertainment systems, cell phones, or more conventional distractions, such as interacting with passengers or eating.

Without causing injuries, an inattentive driving citation can yield 90 days in jail, a fine of $300 and associated legal bills.

Distracted driving accounts for 1 in 4 multiple vehicle crashes in Idaho during 2013, and contributed to 43 deaths and 8,049 people injured. Over the last three years (2011-2013), there have been 879 serious injury crashes involving distracted drivers that have resulted in 125 people killed.

If you’re driving, three simple things can protect you

  • keep your hands on the wheel
  • keep your eyes on the road
  • keep your mind on driving and, if you’re a passenger, speak up if you think the driver is distracted

[AGENCY] believesthat people’s traffic safety behaviors can change through education, awareness, and high-visibility enforcement, bringing us towards zero deaths on Idaho roadways.

The [AGENCY] will be live tweeting information regarding distracted driving citations we hand out from April 1 – 11. Follow [AGENCY] @socialmedianame.

For more information, please visit<link>

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